South Africa Brings Bushmills Home

After a jam-packed few days of challenges and tests, the winners of the Make it 2 Bushmills competition were announced. And we are very proud to announce that the South Africans took the trophy.

Sean Tickner, 30, from Cape Town, and Jonathan Oliff, 28, from Durban, triumphed in the two-day contest in Bushmills, Ireland to find a temporary home for the makers of the 400-year old tipple.

Sean and Jonathan beat 10 other teams from all over the world. Even though the duo didn’t win any of the challenges, it was all about team spirit and the fun had between friends. Sean and Jonathan proved that their friendship was not only rock-solid but also full of humour and a love for life. They cheered on all the other teams and were never afraid of making fun of themselves. It was these qualities that saw our boys bring Bushmills home.

Not only will they welcome Bushmills to South Africa later this year, the keen surfers, who are married to identical twin sisters, have also landed the chance to spend two weeks working at the famous distillery to create their own unique blend of the whiskey. They also get to stay in luxury penthouse accommodation and get £5 000 spending money.

Master distiller, Colum Egan, said the pair were worthy victors. “Sean and Jonathan have shown throughout Make it 2 Bushmills that they are great friends, with a genuine love for life and a fantastic sense of humour,” he said. “We can’t wait to welcome them into the distillery family and then work to take the distillery ‘on tour’ to South Africa … it’s going to be some party.”